Tsubasa Chronicles Plus One
by H-Dawg-luvs-anime
Summary: All she wanted was to be free from a fate she never wanted. Thanks to a friend, Tsuki has that chance. As she travels with a unique group of people, Tsuki will learn the values of friendship, trust, and true love along the way. FaiOC and ShaoranSakura
1. Chapter 1

**Tsubasa Chronicles… Plus One**

**By H-Dawg-luvs-anime**

**Disclaimer: There is absolutely NO chance of me owning Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles or its characters. I do own Tsuki.**

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**Prologue – Life's Not Always Happy**

**Tsuki's POV**

My life has never been an entirely easy one. Then again, whose isn't? But in my case, I think it's been a little harder to bear and, like a coward, I blame my misfortunes on the people who have surrounded me my entire life.

I can't put a name to every face in my near eighteen years worth of memories, but there are three faces that stand out in my mind. This is because they are the people who I despise the most, who I blame in my cowardice. The first two go together, since I can never remember a moment of them being apart in my sight. To be perfectly honest, I have very few memories of them actually in my sight at all. My father and mother were never what you would call ideal parents. They spent most of their days either working in the rice fields of our Lord or gambling with the other attendants in an attempt to gain more than their daily earnings. Sometimes they would, but most of the time I had to fend for both myself and my hopeless parents. From an early age, I learned that I could not rely on others forever. It may be a sin, but I couldn't help but loath Father and Mother as I grew up. That loathing grew to full-blown hatred for what they did to me when I was eleven years old. This leads to the third person whom I hate so much, probably even more than my parents.

Muso is our Lord's eldest and only son, who is nine years my senior. While I had grown up bearing the hardships of the world, he was spoiled and given everything he had wanted, when he wanted. The only thing his father couldn't give him was the position of Emperor, and thank all Gods above for that. Muso grew to be cruel and lustful for anything that caught his interest for even a moment. One of those objects of desire turned out to be me. That disgusting bastard, at the age of twenty, set his horrid lust-filled gaze on an eleven-year-old child.

From the rumors I have heard as the years went by, he approached his father and, as always, begged for me to become his toy. Luckily, our Lord had apparently been as appalled by the thought as I am now. He refused to do so, and it was such a coincident that the very next day his food was poisoned. Two days later he succumbed to the poison fever, making Muso the new Lord. His first order of business was to bring me and my family to him.

After my parents refused to give me to him (this surprised me), Muso became enraged and threw one of his infamous (not to mention pathetic) tantrums. This time, though, he had the power of a Lord to back him up. Calling for a few guards, he threatened Father and Mother with death if they did not give me to him. Given the choice, my so-called parents chose their lives over their only daughter. However, they struck a deal with Muso – as long as he let them live, I would be his to use. The catch for Muso was that he could only start using me for his own carnal pleasure after I had turned eighteen. This seemed to bring Muso down a bit, but the bastard smiled that sick smile of his (probably imagining my looks at my coming-of-age) and agreed. After that day, I never saw either my father or my mother ever again. Not that I wanted to anyway after their betrayal.

That was almost seven years ago. I have been a slave in Muso's residence ever since. As I grew older, I tried all that I could to look less attractive for any hope that Muso will lose interest. It was all for nothing. I grew a nice figure and long, dark-brown hair. My face may not have been the prettiest (I happen to catch glimpses of Muso's concubines and their dolled-up faces are much more appealing than my own), but it held a sort of childish cuteness to it and my large, brown eyes make me look even better. I try to hide myself as best as I can with my slightly baggy clothes, but the shortness of the skirt part which reveals a great deal of my legs makes me nervous. I wear short-shorts to keep anyone (particularly Muso) from having a free look. My slightly ill-tempered personality only seems to appeal to Muso even more. Even if he tries to hide himself, I can still feel that bastard's lustful stare as he spies on me, imagining the night when he can finally take me to his bed…

It is now a week until my eighteenth birthday. Muso is not even trying to hide the fact that he watches me and constantly informs me of the ever-shortening countdown to the "promised day" as he calls it. To me it feels more like my death day is approaching. All of my efforts to avoid this have been in vain and soon I will lose something very precious to all maidens.

I am trapped, but I wish I was free. I would give _anything_ to escape my fate.

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**That's the prologue done. Yes, I know none of the actual characters of TRC are in this chapter, but I thought I should introduce Tsuki and her predicament first.**

**I hope you enjoyed it. Please R&R and NO FLAMES!!!**


	2. Why Me?

**Tsubasa Chronicles… Plus One**

**By H-Dawg-luvs-anime**

**Disclaimer: It is CLAMP who owns TRC and its characters, not me. I do own Tsuki, Muso, Maya and Lady Kanna, though.**

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**Chapter One: Why Me?**

"That… that chauvinistic PERVERT!!" Tsuki screamed as she stormed her way through the halls of Muso's mansion. All in her path made sure to clear the way before her enraged figure could reach them. They had seven years worth of experience to know never to cross an angry Tsuki…

Not taking notice of the lessening number of people in the halls, Tsuki continued her rant. "Who does he think he is trying to grope me before it's even THAT day?! He's lucky to get away with only that slap mark on that smug face of his! PIG!!" Many more un-ladylike phrases spouted from her mouth as she made her way to her living quarters. Unfortunately, Tsuki had to pass the concubines' rooms to get to her room, and that was never a pleasure for her.

"Hey, Tsuki," an annoyingly sugar-coated voice called out just ahead of said girl. Lifting her eyes, Tsuki glared deeply at the head concubine, Maya. "So, it's only one day away, isn't it? I only hope Lord Muso won't be _too_ disappointed in your performance. None of us want him to be angered by your complete incomp – "

"Why don't you go take a long walk off a short cliff?" Tsuki spat venomously. She never understood Maya's extreme jealousy towards her. For Gods' sake, Tsuki didn't even _want_ Muso's attention! "I don't want to see anyone at the moment, particularly you," continuing her pace, glaring straight ahead, the brown-haired girl did not take notice of the foot that was 'accidentally' placed in her path.

"WHAAA-!!" Tsuki's startled scream was cut off by the harsh meeting of her face and the wooden floor. Lifting her head slightly, the slave girl groaned as she brought her hand up to her nose to check if he was bleeding. Her actions were stopped by the sudden violent tug of her long ponytail. Tsuki screamed at the sharp pain in her scalp.

If she could have looked up at that moment, she would have been greeted by the enraged face of Maya, her fair looks now twisted with anger and jealousy as she clutched a handful of Tsuki's hair. "Don't even think you are above me in any way, bitch! I don't even know why my Lord even desires you! Your ugly mug isn't the least bit attractive and that temper is even uglier!"

Turning her head slightly, despite the pain, Tsuki glared up at the black-haired concubine. Finding her voice, she muttered just loud enough for Maya to hear, "Looking ugly is better than looking like a total slut. You can keep him, whore."

Enraged, Maya raised her hand to slap Tsuki. However…

"Girls, what on earth are you doing?!"

Tsuki breathed a sigh of relief at the voice of Lady Kanna, the head maid of the mansion. She could feel the painful pressure on her head lessen as Maya let go of her ponytail. Slowly getting to her feet, she made sure to stand a few feet from Maya to resist the urge to give her a black eye. She watched as Lady Kanna came closer with a stern look.

Lady Kanna came to a stop in front of the teenage girls, eying them both seriously. She spoke with a tone of order, "Set a good image for this place, you two. I doubt many would view your quarrels as entertainment. Tsuki, go to our chamber. Maya, return to your room, as well." Nodding, the two women addressed shot one last glare at each other before doing as they were told.

Arriving in the room that she and Lady Kanna shared, Tsuki pulled her futon out of the closet and unrolled it. She plunked herself down on it and rolled over onto her stomach. She buried her head into her pillow and let loose a muffled scream, giving the pillow the blunt of a fraction of her frustrations.

'_Dear Gods, why me?'_ Tsuki mentally asked. _'Why was I put into this situation? Why did my parents abandon me like this? Why am I about to become some perverted bastard's toy? Dammit, TELL ME WHY!!'_ Unknown to Tsuki, silent tears began running down her face, staining her pillow with the salty liquid. Soundless sobs shook her shoulders as she thought of her life's injustices.

The sliding of the door broke Tsuki from her self pity as someone entered the room. Raising her head, Tsuki saw the outline of Lady Kanna through her tears. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and attempted to look steady, but the damage had been done.

The old woman sat down beside Tsuki and gave her a small hug, like a mother would to her child. Quietly, Lady Kanna said, "Tsuki, it's alright to cry every once in a while. Just let it out, child." The words hit home as Tsuki started sobbing uncontrollably, clutching the old maid to her in desperation. If there was one person Tsuki could never hate in her unjust world, it would be Lady Kanna. She had taken care of her since her parents sold her, taught her the rolls she had to perform, scolded her when she had to, cared for her when she needed it. She was the only real mother Tsuki ever had.

"Lady Kanna," Tsuki sobbed, "why is my life like this? When did I offend the Gods to such an extent that they sought to make my life a living hell? I don't know what, but I must have done something."

"Life can be unfair to all of us at some point in our lives, child," the wise woman answered. "Remember that is it not just you. There are many people who feel like they go through divine punishment. We all must learn to bear unimaginable burdens."

"But to become that – that _monster's_ whore?! I can't bear that burden, Lady Kanna! I would rather kill myself than go through that!" Tsuki cried, clutching the old woman closer to her.

Immediately, Lady Kanna pulled away from Tsuki's grasp and slapped her across the face. As a stunned Tsuki tried to recompose herself, the old maid said sternly, "You will do no such thing, child. Ending your life just as it reaches its prime? That's a foolish coward's way out."

"But I am a coward! I can't face my problems here, and the only escape I know is death. It's the only way!" Tsuki cried.

"…," Lady Kanna suddenly gained a far away look in her eyes. She remained like that for a few moments before she spoke again, "Tsuki, there is another way."

Suddenly stunned once again, Tsuki lifted her large brown eyes to the old woman's black ones. In a small voice, she asked, "What did you say?"

"There is another way out of your worries, child," Lady Kanna repeated. "The question is, though, what are you willing to give in exchange?"

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**Cliffhanger! It looks like Tsuki might be able to escape after all. I think we can all probably guess how, but like Lady Kanna said, she has to give something in return. What could it be? Will she willingly give it up?**

**Find out in the next chapter!**

**Please R&R!**


	3. The First Step

**Tsubasa Chronicles… Plus One**

**By H-Dawg_luvs_anime**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles or its characters. I do own Tsuki, Kanna, Muso and Maya.**

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**Chapter 2 – The First Step**

Tsuki stared at Lady Kanna after her last sentence left her lips. _'What does she mean?'_ "I don't quite follow you, Lady Kanna."

"Tsuki," the old woman began, "remember when you were younger, and I told you stories of different worlds and dimensions for entertainment?" Tsuki nodded. "Well, they were not made up. There are several different dimensions, probably more than you could ever count. However, getting to those worlds is not a simple task. You must first visit one called the Dimensional Witch and present her with a fair trade. Only then is dimensional travel possible."

The younger woman looked shocked for a moment, and then her face gained a skeptical look. Squinting her eyes slightly, she asked, "Lady Kanna, have you been raiding the sake stocks again? I think you might be a little tipsy right now."

SMACK!

"Yeowch!" Now sporting a large bump on her head, Tsuki looked back up at the glaring woman, small tears in the corner of her eyes. "Wha-What the hell was that for?!"

"Child, please refrain from talking like that to your elders, and it was only one time. Now, I'll ask again – are you willing to leave this world?"

Tsuki kept her gaze skeptical. _'Lady Kanna looks so serious now; it's hard to not believe her. But, come on, 'dimensional traveling'? That's something only a kid would think of. Though, I guess there is magic in the world, so maybe that's another type of magic. Wait…'_ Tsuki started speaking aloud, "Lady Kanna, you said that I had to give something to this 'Dimensional Witch'. I haven't anything on me."

Lady Kanna smiled sadly at the young woman. "Sometimes, child, the price is not a physical object. Trust me on that." The old maid gained a sad look in her eyes and Tsuki began to wonder what exactly her mother figure had to give up. As quickly as the sadness came it left, replaced by determination. "Child, only the Dimensional Witch can determine what you need to give up. Now, are you willing to go?"

Tsuki hesitated before saying, "What about you? Can you not come with me, Lady Kanna?"

"Dear, young Tsuki, my magic is not what it used to be anymore," At this Tsuki's eyes grew wide. _'Lady Kanna has __**magic**__?'_ "- and at this age, I can only handle sending one person to the Dimensional Witch. I'm sorry, Tsuki, but you will be on your own from that point onward."

"O-Oh," Tsuki stuttered, "I see." Staring at the old woman, the slave girl then stated, "I'm not leaving you."

SMACK!

"Will you quit DOING THAT?!?!" Tsuki yelled angrily, nursing yet another bump delivered by Lady Kanna.

Lady Kanna had another stern look upon her weathered face. "Don't be stupid, Tsuki. I'm giving you this one chance and I won't let that thick head of yours prevent your from taking it," The maid told the slave girl in an even tone.

"Hey!" Tsuki was offended, now. "I'm just worried about you, you old hag! I can't just up and leave you!"

"You can and you will," Lady Kanna said, adopting a more gentle voice. "Tsuki, I appreciate your concern, but I want you to be free. Look at me. I am old, and I will probably live for only ten more years, at best. When I look at you, I see a spirited, young woman who still has so much life to look forward to. I do not want that spirit to be broken by Muso of all people," The old woman placed a hand gently on Tsuki's shoulder. "If you stay behind and go through those ordeals merely for my sake, I would never forgive myself. Please, if not for yourself, do this for me."

Gazing into the warm, black eyes of the old maid, Tsuki couldn't find it in her heart to deny her of her wish. Slowly, she nodded, "Okay, Lady Kanna, for you."

Smiling warmly, the old woman patted Tsuki's cheek in the way a mother would her child. "That's my girl." Taking her hand away, Lady Kanna looked around the room, saying, "Well now, is there anything you want to take with you? You may never return here, you know."

"What is there to take?" Tsuki asked, a little sarcastic. "All I have are the clothes on my back." _'And the stupid formal kimono I wear on special occasions, but I'm not pointing __**that**__ out.'_

"What about your old ribbon?" Lady Kanna asked, pointing to the small box near the corner of the room.

The slave girl stiffened at the mention of the old item, her hands clenching tightly into fists. Turning around slightly, her brown eyes glared at the box as though it was sent from the pits of hell, itself. "Why would I want to take **that** of all things?" she asked with words laced with venom. "It's a constant reminder of what **they** did to me!"

Lady Kanna sighed at the resent in Tsuki's voice. She should have seen that coming. "Nevermind then, child. Nevermind." Sadly looking at Tsuki, she wrapped her arms around her and said, "You are like the daughter I always wanted. I will be praying for your safety and well-being everyday, Tsuki. Just remember to make friends and trust others. Who knows what will happen and who you will need from this moment on."

The young woman hugged her mother figure closely, tears forming in her eyes, but refusing to fall. _'Stay strong, Tsuki. Stay strong for Lady Kanna.' _"I'll miss you so much, Lady Kanna. I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me these past seven years. I'll never forget you."

The two women pulled apart and looked at each other. After what seemed like hours, Lady Kanna stepped back and began doing odd hand movements, but kept her eyes glued to Tsuki's. The younger woman began to notice an odd feeling in the air. It felt both pleasantly warm and refreshingly cool at the same time. The room seemed to turn a light purple as a wind of unknown origins began to blow. Tsuki felt a shift beneath her feet and looked down. She almost screamed at what she saw.

The floor seems to turn into a jelly-like substance as it climbed up her legs and lower torso. She could see it continue to climb up her body. Turning her eyes back to Lady Kanna's, Tsuki saw that she still had that sad smile on her face. Before being completely engulfed by the jelly, she heard the old woman say, "This will be your first step on your journey of self discovery. Believe in others, Tsuki. Believe in **him**."

And then it was dark.

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Lady Kanna stayed in the same spot looking at the place where Tsuki disappeared. Looking up, the old maid seemed to stare at some invisible force. She spoke in a faraway voice, "In my dream, a saw Tsuki along with five others. Two were a boy and a girl, only a few years younger than Tsuki herself, who held such love for one another that it was heartwarming. There was a man clad in black with a scowl on his face, but he had an aura of true loyalty and a willingness to protect. A small, white creature with incredible magic and innocence like no other was on the black one's head, lightening the mood with its positive words.

"And then, there **he** was. Another man, but he had hair the color of the sun and eyes as blue as the clearest lake. His face held a smile, but his heart weighed heavily on him. However, the looks he gave Tsuki, even without her knowledge, were so warm and genuine it gives me hope for her. Please be there for her, kind sir. Help her when she needs it."

BANG! BANG!

"Kanna! Tsuki! Open the door!"

Calmly, Lady Kanna walked to the door and slid it open. Standing right in front of her was Lord Muso, his expression the most lustful she had seen. She smiled inwardly, since his look was about to be erased.

"You knocked, My Lord?" she said, trying to hide the joy in her voice.

"You know why I'm here. Where's Tsuki? We're about to move her to her new room. It's much closer to mine," Muso's sick smile widened at the thought.

"My Lord," Lady Kanna started, "You will never see Tsuki again."

"…" Muso's shocked expression almost made Lady Kanna smirk. Almost. "What did you say?" his voice was so quiet it was deadly.

The old maid could not hide her smirk anymore as she stated the fact, "Tsuki's gone. You will never see her again."

Instantly Muso's hand shot out and slapped Lady Kanna across the face. As the old woman fell to the floor, Muso continued to yell, over and over again, "Where is she?! Where is she?!"

Holding one frail hand to her tender cheek, the maid looked right into Muso's eyes and spoke, "She is in a place where you no longer have power over her."

Enraged, Muso kicked the old woman's side and watched in sick pleasure as she keeled over in pain. Calling for two guards, he ordered, "Take her to the dungeons! I want this hag whipped until her whole back is red with blood!" At the guards' hesitation, Muso began glaring at them, too. "Do you want to join her?" The guards quickly shook their heads. "THEN DO IT NOW!!"

As the guards reluctantly took Lady Kanna away, Muso walked over to the small box in the corner of the room. Lifting the lid, his eyes rested on a long, red ribbon inside of the box. His eyes gained a crazed look as he lifted the ribbon to his nose and sniffed it, as though he would acquire Tsuki's essence from it, though it had not been worn by her for years. A twisted smile rested on his lips as he gazed at the old item. "Tsuki, Tsuki, Tsuki. What a bad girl. When I find you, you'll be begging for the tortures to stop. You can never escape me, you hear! You are MINE!"

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**Tsuki has finally escaped her predicament, but now Lady Kanna has to pay the price! Find out what happens to Tsuki in the next chapter, where she'll finally join the rest of the Tsubasa characters!**

**I hope you're enjoying the story so far. Please R&R!**


	4. The Gathering

**Tsubasa Chronicles… Plus One**

**By H-Dawg_luvs_anime**

**A/N: Hey there, everyone! Hope you're enjoying the fanfic, so far. I'm just here to tell you that the story will be following the manga plot, not the anime. The story will have the manga dialogue, but it will have Tsuki tied in with it. For the reviews so far:**

**WildfireDreams: Thank you so much for your compliments! I'll try and keep the story as interesting as I can. Don't worry about rushed romance, either. I want to keep this fic as realistic as possible and the romance will gradually come in due time.**

**Staryskies75: You'll find out in this chapter what Tsuki has to give up to travel dimensions. It may come as a surprise to you. Thanks for the review!**

**Nims Dias-angelovdarkness: I'm glad you find this interesting. I'll keep updating as often as I can!**

**Angelflight2k6: Thanks for the compliment back in chapter 2. Here's some more of the story!**

**SeEmYaWeSoMeNeSs: For being the very first person to comment on this story, thank you so much! As you saw in the last chapter, Tsuki did escape from Muso, but for how long? With the random world-jumping the travelers may end up in her world… Anything's possible in the world of fanfiction!**

**Kurogane: Is she finished yet? I want to get home!**

**Kurogane, patience is a virtue, and you'll have to have a lot of it while in this story! ^_^**

**Kurogane: Damn you, woman!**

**Fai: Kuro-Pii, that's not a nice thing to say to the author. With her imagination, she could turn you into a REAL Kuro-Puppy! That would be so cute! :D**

**Kurogane: … I want my sword.**

**Anyway, it's disclaimer time, so would you do the honors, Kurogane?**

**Kurogane: Not a snowball's chance in hell.**

… **Kuro-Puppy… :D**

**Kurogane: … H-Dawg_luvs_anime does not own Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle or its characters.**

**Fai: She owns Tsuki-chan, though.**

**Tsuki: If you're going to use honorifics then say Tsuki-SAN!**

**Fai: Wah, Tsuki-chan's another Kurogane!**

**Okay, I'd better start before something gets broken. Enjoy, folks!**

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**Chapter 3 – The Gathering**

"This child's name is Sakura, isn't it?" a woman with long, black hair and red eyes asked a boy with brown hair and amber eyes.

"Yes!" the boy answered in a desperate voice. He held a pretty girl with short, light brown hair tightly in his arms. Her jade green eyes were closed and she was as still as death.

"And you?" she asked the boy.

"I'm Syaoran," he answered in a much calmer voice. The black haired woman knelt down to their level and held her hand close to the girl, Sakura's, head, but did not touch her.

"This child," she started, "Has lost something very precious." It was not a question, but a statement.

The boy hesitated before saying, "…Yes."

The woman continued, "And that something has been scattered to many different worlds. If nothing is done, this child will die." Syaoran tensed at the words and held Sakura even closer to him. Turning to the boy with glasses behind her, Yuko, the woman, addressed him, "Watanuki?"

"Y-Yes?" Watanuki asked nervously.

"Go to our treasure room, there is something I need you to bring back," she ordered. Watanuki turned and went inside the shop. Yuko turned her attention back to the two teenagers. Looking at Syaoran, she asked, "You wish to save this child?"

Without a second thought, the boy answered, "Yes!!"

Solemnly, the Dimensional Witch said, "There _is_ a price. Are you still willing?"

Not even bothering to think about what the price would be, Syaoran cried, "I will pay _any_ price I can!" Suddenly a strange noise was heard through the pouring rain. It sounded like strong gusts of wind, but there wasn't even a breeze in the air. Letting a gasp escape from his lips, Syaoran darted is head from side to side to try and locate the source of the sound.

Yuko, on the other hand, merely smiled. Turning her eyes to the right of Syaoran, she said, "Here they come."

Three blobs appeared on both sides of Syaoran and Sakura, two to the right and one to the left. The far right one and the left one came out of the ground while the blob directly to the right came right out of the air itself. The blobs all suddenly exploded, releasing the people who were inside of them. The blob to the left held a black-clad man. His hair was as black as his outfit, but his eyes were the color of blood. In his right hand was a long sword. The blob to the direct left had a blond-haired, blue-eyed man in it. He wore a heavy, white coat suitable for cold climates and held a staff in his hands. To the far left was a young woman with long, brown hair, a few shades darker than Syaoran's, tied up into a high ponytail. Her large, brown eyes were wide open as she stood completely still. The dark green outfit she was wearing was like a robe with its long sleeves, but the bottom part of it ended a few inches above her knees. Black short-shorts could be seen underneath the robe. Her feet had boots on them.

"Are you the Dimensional Witch?" the blond man asked politely.

"Who the hell are you?" the black man asked in a demanding voice.

Unfortunately, both men asked their questions at the same time, so the words sounded like gibberish. They turned to look at each other, surprised (and irritated, in the black haired man's case) to see other people with them. The woman simply remained still.

Somehow, Yuko was able to understand what they were saying. Extending her hand, Yuko insisted, "Please give me your names first."

"Me?" the black man said. "I'm Kurogane." Looking at the giant buildings all around him, his curiosity got to him, "What are these weird buildings all around? I mean… what is this place?"

"It's called Japan," the Dimensional Witch informed.

This made Kurogane confused beyond belief. "Eh? My country's called Japan, too."

"Yes," Yuko said. "A different Japan."

"I'm not getting any of this!" Now Kurogane was both confused and annoyed.

Ignoring the irritated man, Yuko turned her attention to the blond. Nodding to him, she asked, "And you?"

Bowing in a formal manner, the man introduced himself, "The wizard of Seresu, Fai D. Flowright."

The black haired woman then turned to the ponytail-ed woman, "And your name is?"

Still staring straight ahead of her, in a shaky voice, the girl said, "Tsuki, and…" she paused, now turning an unhealthy shade of green, before continuing, "…and I think I'm gonna be sick!" With that she suddenly sprinted to the nearest grove of bushes before dunking her head into them and started making gagging and retching noises. The remaining four conscious people looked at her in a confused way.

"Oh, my," Fai said, blinking at the strange sight.

"What's her problem?" Kurogane asked.

"Is she alright?" Syaoran asked in a slightly worried tone.

"Hmm," Yuko mused. "This is indeed a first. I've never heard of someone getting motion sickness from dimension-traveling before."

Stopping her gagging for a moment, Tsuki lifted her head and shot a weak glare at the black haired woman who, in her opinion, looked a little too much like an older Maya for her liking. In a slightly raspy voice, she bit out, "Up yours, you bi-…," before another sudden wave of nausea hit her and she quickly resumed her retching in the bushes.

Yuko slowly turned her head to the three men. "Continuing…," she started, getting the three's attention again, "do you know where you are?"

"Yes," Fai answered, "a place where any wish can be granted if a suitable price is paid." Kurogane looked at the wizard in surprise.

Nodding, Yuko said, "That's exactly it. And so, the reason why all of you are here is because each of you has a wish."

"My home world…," Kurogane and Fai started.

"… is where I want to be!" Kurogane finished.

"… is the place I do not want to be," Fai finished. Kurogane turned to glare at him.

"And you…?" the Dimensional Witch asked the still gagging woman.

Without even lifting her head from the bushes, Tsuki raised one arm into the air and pointed in Fai's direction, indicating that her wish was the same as the wizard's.

Raising an eyebrow at the sight, Yuko turned her attention to the other three, or four if you included the princess. "That is a tall order for the three of you. No, for all four of you, perhaps. Even if you offered the most precious things you own, none of you has enough to pay." At this the others had negative reactions. Kurogane and Fai both looked forlorn. Syaoran clutched Sakura to him even tighter. Over by the bushes, Tsuki froze from her retching. _'Then my trip from hell was just a waste?!'_ she asked herself in rage. "But…" Yuko continued. The travelers all looked up in hope at the woman, "… if all four of you paid together, you may just be able to afford it."

"You're serious?!" Tsuki asked, instantly at the other woman's side, causing the others to jump at her sudden appearance. Yuko nodded.

Kurogane, however, was getting annoyed at the conversation that made absolutely no sense to him. "What kind of crap are you spouting?"

"Hey!" Fai called for the black haired man. "Mr. Black, can you keep your insults down?"

Tick.

"I'm not "Mr. Black!" I'm Kurogane!" the steamed ninja growled at the blond wizard. Said wizard had to turn his head and cover his ears at the loud reply. Tsuki sweatdropped at the sight.

It was then that Tsuki _really_ noticed the company she was with. _'Th-They're all - …'_ **"MEN!!"** she shouted out loud. Quickly she backed away from the small group, shooting a glare at the two oldest-looking men. Everyone but Yuko looked at her in surprise. "Keep away from me. All of you!" Tsuki spat out.

"Tsuki-chan," Fai began carefully, "calm down. None of us will harm you."

Tick.

"If you're using honorifics, use –SAN!!" The woman growled out.

"But Tsuki-chan sounds so cute!" Fai countered cheerfully, noticing that she had come closer to the group in her fit. Tsuki took no notice as she yelled at the blond man.

"It's not 'cute!' I don't like 'cute!'" she yelled.

"It's cute!" Fai was enjoying this now.

"Will you two _SHUT UP?!?!_" Kurogane growled. The two fighters (well, one of them was fighting anyway) quickly stopped talking.

"… Thank you." Yuko told the ninja. She started speaking the whole group, "All four of your wishes are the same. You," she indicated Syaoran, "want to go to many worlds in order to restore the memory of this child. You," she indicated Kurogane, "want to return to your own world. Both of you," she indicated Fai and Tsuki, who had stepped a few feet away from the wizard while glaring at him, "want to go to different worlds to avoid returning to your own." The black haired woman addressed all of them now, "You have different reasons, but the method is the same: travel to different dimensions… that is what you need. Each of you individually cannot make that wish happen. However, if the four of you combine payment for one wish, then you can afford it."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Tsuki stopped the witch from continuing. "Are you saying I have to travel with these _men_?" Yuko nodded. "No way! I'm not about to travel with men, especially one's who I know nothing about!"

"Alright," Yuko said, smirking, "then I'll have you know that I can't return your own world. You'll be stuck here with no knowledge of this world, no money, and you will probably have to do some unpleasant things to get by in this world."

"… Bitch," Tsuki seethed through clenched teeth.

Still smirking, Yuko asked, "So you'll go?" The girl addressed nodded while keeping her glare on the woman. "Good."

Remembering the talk about payment, Kurogane asked, "What would _my_ payment be?"

Without missing a beat, Yuko replied, "Your sword."

"Wha-!" Kurogane began, enraged, "I'd _never_ sell Ginryu!"

"Fine!" Yuko began, sidling up to the ninja and began poking him. "Instead you will wander this world looking like a costume-contest loser, and get picked up by the police for carrying an unlawful sword, and get plastered all over the TV for being a freak! Is that what you want?" Kurogane just stuttered at the strange things the witch was saying. "You realize that you are trapped here, and I am the only person in the world who can get you out?" That caught Kurogane's attention.

"That's got to be a lie!!"

"It's all true!" Fai called. "Don't you remember what she told Tsuki-chan not long ago?"

"Tsuki-SAN!!"

"You're kidding," Kurogane said, half in horror and half in disbelief. The wizard just laughed and nodded.

"What will you do?" the witch asked, though she already knew the answer.

Growling and cursing, the angry ninja sheathed his beloved sword and thrust it at Yuko. "When I'm free from this curse," he promised, "I'm coming back for it!" A strange wind flew around the sword and lifted it away from Kurogane.

"You're price," Yuko said to Fai, "is your marking."

The wizard looked startled at the payment. Smiling slightly, he lifted his staff a little bit and asked, "I don't suppose my staff would do instead?"

"It won't," Yuko insisted. "I told you, the price is the thing you value the most."

The blond looked deeply troubled, but smiled slightly before sighing, "I guess I have no choice." A blue glow appeared on Fai's back, making Tsuki squeak in surprise, and took the shape of a phoenix-like marking. It removed itself from his back and floated to Yuko's side.

At this, Tsuki was dumbfounded. _'A tattoo…,'_ she thought. _'His most valuable possession is a __**tattoo**__??'_ She was brought out of her thoughts by Yuko.

"Your price, Tsuki," she began, "is the memories of your past." At Tsuki's confused look, she explained, "The memories from your birth to when you were brought to your lord's mansion must be given to me."

"Wha-What?" if Tsuki wasn't confused before, she was now. "How can those memories be the most valuable thing to me? I hated my whole life!"

"True," Yuko agreed, "but you still treasure those moments. They were the times when you were free. They were the times when you did not have to worry about your eighteenth birthday and your life following it. That is why they are so special to you. To travel, you must relinquish them to me."

Tsuki was silent for a moment while everyone's eyes were on her. After a minute or so of contemplating, she looked Yuko dead in the eye and whispered, "Just take them."

Nodding, the witch held up her hand and pointed directly at Tsuki's forehead. Tsuki's vision was suddenly filled with pictures of her childhood flashing by her, too quickly for her to really catch them all. In seconds everything went white, then black. No longer able to hold onto her consciousness, she collapsed.

Fai quickly held his arms out and caught the girl before she could fall face-first into the mud. Holding her upright, he looked back to Yuko. "I take it that's supposed to happen?" he asked.

"Yes," the witch said. "The sudden loss of many memories comes as a great shock to the mind, body, and soul. She should recover in no time, though." Now her attention switched to Syaoran, still holding Sakura. "What about you? Now is the time to hand over your item of highest value, and you will be able to travel the worlds."

Syaoran stroked the young girl's face softly before turning to Yuko. "Fine!" he agreed.

Yuko looked at the determined young man sadly. "You realize that I haven't named the price yet," she warned.

"Yes!"

"The only thing I can do is send you to other worlds," Yuko continued. "Finding the child's memories is something _you_ will have to do."

"… Fine!"

At his unwavering answer, Yuko couldn't help but smirk. "I like your attitude," she complimented.

"Eh? There's more of you," Watanuki stated as he returned from the shop. He was carrying two identical creatures. One was white with a red jewel on its forehead, the other black with a blue jewel. Yuko reached for the white one and took it from Watanuki's arms.

"The name of this young one," she said, "is Mokona Modoki. Mokona will lead you through the worlds.

"Hey, you got an extra. Give it to me. I'll go home with that," Kurogane insisted while reaching for the black Mokona.

"No, that's how we keep in contact," Yuko told him. "The only power this one has is to stay in communication with Mokona." Kurogane didn't look happy to hear that. "Mokona will take you to different dimensions, but there is no way to control which dimension. For this reason, only fate will decide when your wishes will be granted. However, there is no coincidence in the world. What is there is "hitsuzen." And what brought you together," she indicated the whole group, "was also hitsuzen."

"Syaoran," Yuko stated evenly, "your price is your relationship. The thing that you value the most is your relationship with her. That is your price."

"My price?" the boy asked, confused. "But how-?"

Yuko cut him off, "Even if this child's memory is completely restored, your relationship with her will never be the same. So what is she to you?"

Syaoran looked down at the face of the young girl in his arms. Closings is eyes, he saw the beautiful memories of their childhood, the memories he held so dearly in his heart. The memories of his most precious person. That is what he told the witch.

"…," Yuko listened until the boy was finished. "I see. However, if your want Mokona, that relationship will have to end. Even if you retrieve all of her momories, the one memory you will never get back will be her momory of you. Will you pay that price?"

Placing his forehead to Sakura's, Syaoran squeezed his eyes shut at the pain his answer would bring to his heart. But it was the only way. He had to do it.

"Let's go. I will _not_ let Sakura die!"

"… I understand," Yuko said. "Now I will give you a fair warning for your journey."

* * *

"… are you still determined to see it through?" Yuko finished.

"… Yes!" once again, Syaoran agreed to the terms given to him.

Smiling, Yuko lifted Mokona a little higher into the air. Keeping her eyes on the white creature, she said, "Sincerity and determination… no matter no matter what a person wants to attempt, those are needed. And it seems that you are well provided with both."

A familiar wind began to blow as Mokona rose into the air. A cryptic seal appeared beneath it as it suddenly grew wings on its back. The wind gusted stronger than before as Mokona opened its mouth and started inhaling. A strong suction force pulled on the small group of people in front of the creature. Bracing themselves and the two unconscious girls, the three men disappeared into a gust of wind and were sucked into Mokona. Once that was done, Mokona closed its mouth and popped out of existence – at least in that world.

As the rains stopped and the clouds cleared, Yuko gazed into the sky as a new adventure unfolded. "I wish you four the best of fortune on your journey!" Yuko said to the sky. Then, with a sad look on her face, Yuko added, "Kanna, your wish has been granted at last."

* * *

**And they're off! The journey has begun!**

**Oh… My… God! That was the longest thing I have ever written in my life! Its midnight and I've been at this for five hours straight. I need sugar!**

**Kurogane: Hell no! Not before you go to sleep!**

**Fai: Aww! Kuro-Woof is such a good daddy!**

**Daddy! Daddy!**

**Kurogane: I'll kill you both, someday.**

**Tsuki: Can I join you?**

**Fai: Waah! Tsuki-chan and Kuro-Daddy are so mean!**

**Tsuki: Tsuki-SAN!!**

**Kurogane: It's KUROGANE!!**

**Tsuki, you traitor! I'm your creator! You can't kill your creator!**

**Kuro/Tsuki: JUST END THE DAMN CHAPTER!!**

**Okay, okay, sheesh…**

**As I said before, this fic follows the manga dialogue, so many scenes and sentences will be familiar to you. However, Tsuki's presence will alter some things.**

**I hope you like how I made Tsuki get motion sickness from traveling to different worlds. I sure enjoyed doing it! Its gonna be a treat doing that for the next few journeys! XD**

**See you later! Please R&R!**


	5. World of the Kudan

**Tsubasa Chronicles… Plus One**

**By H-Dawg_luvs_anime**

**A/N: Welcome back! I'm so happy that I'm getting such nice reviews from people. Thank you all so much for your kind words! To the most recent reviews:**

**Angelflight2k6: Thank you! You can bet I'll make more!**

**xxChocolateBubblegum: I'm glad you like my story, and I'm also happy that you can **_**kind of**_** relate to Tsuki. That's actually my point. I don't want her to seem like a Mary Sue. To me, she's human just like the rest of us. She has her flaws and troubles, but she also has to face them someday.**

**Twilight1: Yeah I know what you mean. I'm not against Yaoi in any way, but I'm seeing so few stories of Fai and Kuro actually being straight that it's getting a little tiring. Yaoi is just something that I can't really get into for some reason. Don't worry, either, I'm one of those people who don't like seeing discontinued fanfics, so I'm not going to discontinue this one. If I do, feel free to flame me!**

**WildfireDreams: I'm happy you laugh at that. Fai gets a real kick out of teasing Tsuki by calling her –chan because her reaction is much the same as Kurogane's – annoyed / pissed off / throws fits. XD**

**Staryskies75: Tsuki's character is something I enjoy creating. She short-tempered, stubborn, distrusts men (I'll give you three guesses why .), and her motion sickness is something I just threw in to make fun of her! I have a feeling that once she's over her distrust, she'll get along with Kurogane just fine… maybe…**

**Tsuki: You created me and then you make fun of me… I'm touched. _***

**Thank you! :D**

**Tsuki: That wasn't a compliment.**

**Kurogane: Don't bother, onna. Sarcasm floats right over her head.**

**Fai: H-Dawg_luvs_anime does not own Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle or its characters. Tsuki-chan belongs to her.**

**Tsuki: ENOUGH WITH THE '-CHAN,' YOU IDIOT!!**

**Here's chapter four. Have fun!**

* * *

**Chapter 4 – World of the Kudan**

Darkness swam through Tsuki's vision as she woke up. Groaning softly, she slowly cracked her eyelids open, blinked a couple of times and saw –

"… THIS!!"

"WAAAHH!!" Tsuki screamed at the sudden appearance of a white… _thing_ with wide-open eyes that were kind of freaky. She flung herself backwards quicker than the eye can see until she hit a wall. She winced at the sudden pain in her back, but kept her wide eyes on the creature.

The white creature jumped over towards Tsuki quite merrily, chanting, "She's awake! She's awake!" The other occupants of the room, after the surprise of the creature coupled with the startled scream of the previously resting woman, beheld the woman with curious eyes.

"You're awake. Are you alright, Miss?" The brown haired boy, whom Tsuki remembered to be Syaoran, asked. He was still holding Sakura in his arms.

'_Did he not let her go since the witch's place?'_ Tsuki wondered. Out loud, she replied, "I think so, but what's that – that _thing_ right there?" Raising a shaky hand, she pointed to the white ball with ears in front of her.

"Mokona is not a thing! Mokona is Mokona!" The creature, apparently called Mokona, shouted, jumping on to Tsuki's lap. Tsuki, still jumpy, promptly pushed it off of her with such force that it flew across the room to meet with Kurogane's face.

"MMPH! MMMPHM HMM!!" Whatever Kurogane was trying to say (Tsuki had a feeling it was "Hey! Get off me!") was muffled by the giggling mass of white attached to his face. As he wrestled to remove his new face-hugger, Tsuki saw Fai wave to her from his place next to Syaoran. Remembering what an annoyance he was back at the witch's shop, her face took on a frustrated look.

"What is it?" she asked bluntly.

"It's good to see you're awake. We were wondering if you would be in the same boat as Sakura-san for a while, Tsuki-chan," the wizard said with a giant smile on his face.

"Don't call me 'Tsuki-chan,' idiot! I've told you before, if you want to use honorifics then use '-san!' Is that too much to ask?!" the woman seethed.

"Yep!" Fai said, smile still in place. Tsuki merely growled and turned away.

"Whatever," she grumbled. "Just stay away from me. I don't need any help from _men_ for anything."

The others (including Kurogane, who had successfully managed to remove Mokona from his face) looked at the ponytail-ed woman in a strange way. _'Why does she not trust us simply because we're males?'_ Syaoran wondered.

"By the way," Tsuki began, turning her head slightly to look at them suspiciously, "what did you mean by me 'being in the same boat' as that girl?" She declined her head to slightly nod at the unconscious Sakura.

"The price you paid to travel dimensions was past memories," Syaoran said. "Sakura has lost all of her memories. That's why she's like this. You lost consciousness as soon as you made your payment, so we thought you would be in the same condition as her."

"…," Tsuki was silent as she contemplated what Syaoran had told her. _'When he puts it that way, how am I awake? And why is my mind all white when the phrase 'past memories' is said? Surely I couldn't have lost all of my childhood memories, could I? The farthest back I can remember are a man and a woman pushing me towards Muso's mansion. Were they my parents?'_

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Kurogane suddenly spoke up. Everyone turned to look at the ninja. He continued, "You said the little girl has lost _all_ of her memories. The onna only had her childhood memories taken, and that was to ride in the manju bun's mouth. Of course she's in better condition." Crossing his arms, the ninja leaned backwards and rested his back on the wall behind him.

"Wow~!" the wizard sighed. "Kuro-tan is so smart!"

"It's Kurogane, you nut!" said 'Kuro-tan' shot back angrily.

"Kuro-tan! It's Kuro-tan!" Mokona chanted gleefully.

"Now you know know how I feel," Tsuki muttered from her corner, but not loud enough for anyone to hear.

"Anyway," Fai said, "before you woke up, Tsuki-chan -," "TSUKI-_SAN!!"_ "- we were just discussing searching for Sakura-san's memory feathers, which have been scattered throughout many different worlds. What you saw Mokona do when you woke up was its reaction when it senses a feather's presence. I will be joining the search, since my original objective was to never return to my world. Kuro-pii over there -," "It's KUROGANE!!" "- is just going to do his own merry way of things until we find his world. So, what will you do?"

"… Well," Tsuki hesitated, "I guess I don't really want to go back to my world, either, so I guess I'll help out, too."

"YAAY!!" Mokona cheered, bouncing all over the room in delight. "Tsuki-chan's gonna come, too!" The happy creature leapt right at Tsuki's face, but the woman caught it in midair between two outstretched hands.

"I said I would help," she grumbled, "but that doesn't mean we're going to hold hands and be the best of friends. I'll help out in my own way, by myself, and you guys do things your way. I don't need help." Tsuki then remembered _all_ of what Mokona said. "And drop the '-chan!'"

"Yo!"

At the sudden new voice Tsuki and Syaoran turned around in a defensive position (a little difficult for Syaoran to do since he was holding Sakura). Standing by a door were two people, a man and a woman. The man had short, slightly spiky hair and had a large smile on his face. He held a bowl of snacks in his right hand while his left hand was held high in a welcoming gesture. The woman was beautiful, with long, straight black hair and calm eyes. Unlike the man, she wasn't smiling, but she still seemed friendly in her own way. She held a tray with four teacups on it.

"So you're all awake now!" the man noticed. He saw the two younger ones were tense, so he said, "Hey! No need to get all tense! You came from Yuko-san, right?"

The two looked confused. "Yuko-san?" Syaoran asked.

"You know, the girl witch. The Dimension Witch… The Far East Witch… she has a lot of names," The man answered.

'_I have a few names for her,'_ Tsuki sneered inside her head, _'but its best not to say 'em out loud.'_

The black haired woman went over to Syaoran and handed him a blanket. "Here," she offered.

"Oh! Thank you!" Syaoran accepted the offering gratefully. The woman took another blanket over to Tsuki, who also accepted it. Tsuki would never admit weakness aloud, but she was a little cold.

"I'm Sorata Arisugawa," the man introduced himself.

"I'm Arashi," the woman said.

"Just to let you know," Sorata boasted, "she's my wife and the woman I love. I call her my "Honey"!" Tsuki rolled her eyes at the strange nickname. Sorata didn't take notice as he continued, "Just make sure that you've burned that into your hearts." As he was rambling, Arashi had taken the liberty of taking the teacup tray out of his hand and passed out the tea. As Sorata gained a blissful look on his face, she had just finished giving tea to everyone. Tsuki was trying to hide her laughter behind her cup and almost failed. The others didn't seem to be paying much attention to him at all.

Sorata approached Kurogane and said, "By which I mean that if you lay a finger on her, you'll die horribly." His voice was so cheerful it promised death.

"Why do you say that only to _me_?!" Kurogane shouted in rage. Sorata seemed to ignore him as he chanted 'Nori! Nori!', little Mokona jumping in the air and dancing along with him.

Suddenly, Sorata turned to Kurogane again and said in the same tone as before, "But I wasn't kidding!" He gave Kurogane a thumb's up.

Kurogane looked like a rabid dog at this point. "I WON'T TOUCH HER!!" he 'assured' the lovesick man.

"Now," Sorata said, becoming serious, "I figure you went to the witch lady, and got this" he pointed to Mokona, who was in his hand, "from her to get here, right?"

"Mokona Modoki!" the little thing said happily. _'Is that thing ever _not_ cheerful?'_ Tsuki wondered.

"That's a long name," Sorata said. "Is it okay if I just say Mokona?"

"Sure!" Mokona replied. "Okay!" Tsuki sweatdropped at its tone. _'… I think I may be right…'_ Tsuki concluded from her previous thought.

"Heard the whole story from the man there," Sorata said, indicating Fai. "Mr. Black over there is too mean to ask," this time he pointed to Kurogane.

"Shut up!" Kurogane yelled. Fai just laughed.

"Anyway, gentlemen and lady," Sorata continued, "This is your lucky day."

"Umm…," the wizard began. "In what way?" he asked.

The man just smiled. "Mokona has no idea which is the next world, right?" he asked while walking towards the window. "So it's a happy chance that brought you to this world first of all." When Sorata reached the window, he pulled it open. "Because this is the Hanshin Republic!" The small group of travelers couldn't believe their eyes.

As far as their eyes could see, there were enormous buildings unlike any they ever saw before. Even though it was nighttime, the streets were still lit up by bright lights and signs. Images of various kinds could be seen on the streets and buildings, but the most prominent were tigers and dragons.

Tsuki was the first to say anything. "Whoa…," she breathed.

"Ahem!" Sorata cleared his throat behind them. Turning around, the four travelers beheld a very odd sight.

Sorata and Arashi were standing in front of a giant… board… thing. Tsuki had no idea what exactly it was. The married couple was holding a puppet each that looked like them in a warped way. Tsuki thought they looked ridiculous, funny, but ridiculous.

The married man began speaking, "This is the Hanshin Republic, the best of Island Nations…," The man kept talking about the country and its greatness for a good hour or so. Unfortunately, most of the topics flew over Tsuki's head. Hardly anything made sense to her.

'_Car? Motorcycle? What the hell is baseball?!'_ Tsuki was so confused and little swirls replaced her eyes. She honestly thought she was going to faint from working her brain so hard.

Fai raised his hand after Sorata finished his discussion of 'baseball.' "Sir!" he said. "I have a question."

"Yes, Fai-kun?"

'Saved by the idiot,' Tsuki thought, slightly thankful that the wizard stopped Sorata from saying anything more for a minute.

"Does everyone in this country have an accent like yours, Sorata-san?" Fai asked, the curious look in his eyes shining brightly.

Sorata smiled brightly and replied, "Aww, Don't be so formal! Call me Sora-chan!" _'Oh, Gods!'_ Tsuki sighed inwardly. "My accent is unique to me. It's an older version of our language."

At the man's comment, fascinated look came to Syaoran's face. "Your's was a language that they used in the past?" His interest was so visible it was like an aura surrounding him.

Sorata and Syaoran talked about the past of the country and about each other for a few minutes. It turned out that Sorata was a history teacher and Syaoran was something called an 'archeologist,' who studied events of the past through objects.

Fai raised his hand again, "And I have one more question. Exactly where are we? Who owns this room?"

"This is an empty room in an old, traditional apartment house that my Honey and I manage," Sorata said, pulling Arashi into a loving embrace. Arashi, on the other hand, remained expressionless. Afterward, the man took on another blissful look.

Tsuki sweatdropped at Sorata's expression. _'This man makes people wiser?'_ she asked herself, doubting what she had heard earlier. Tsuki was brought back into reality by the sound of soft snoring. Looking behind her, she saw Kurogane had taken the liberty of sleeping while no one paid attention to him. That didn't last long.

"YOU! WAKE UP!!"

BAM!

Kurogane was pitched forward as some invisible force hit him on top of his head. The ninja quickly righted himself as he became defensive. "What was that?" he asked. Meanwhile, Tsuki had jumped backwards into the wall she was at before. Fai looked serious (for once), and Syaoran protectively covered Sakura's comatose body with his own. All of them looked around the room for any threats.

"I didn't feel an enemy!" Kurogane yelled as he stood and scanned the room some more. When he couldn't find anyone, he continued to yell, "Who did that?" Something clicked in the ninja's mind and he turned to glare accusingly at Sorata. "Bastard! You threw that, didn't you?"

"You were in a corner. If he threw anything, it wouldn't hit you there," Fai reasoned, being unsually serious and logical. "It had to come from above."

"Come on," Tsuki drawled. "How can that be possible? I was watching him right up until he was hit. There was nothing going on all around him that I could see."

"What?" Sorata asked, not getting what all the fuss was about. "It was my Kudan, what else?" He said his answer as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The four travelers looked at the man curiously. ""Kudan"?" they questioned as one.

"You don't know?" Sorata looked confused for a moment, and then realization hit him. "Sure you don't! You all come from different worlds. You wouldn't know!" Taking out a marker, the teacher wrote the word 'Kudan' in Kanji on the board. Turning back to the others, he said, "Everyone in this world has a Kudan attached. Here's how it's written in Kanji."

"Ah, I see," Kurogane mumbled.

"Same here," Tsuki agreed.

"I don't see it at all!" Fai said happily.

Tsuki whipped around and looked at the wizard in an odd way. "How can you not? It's written there, plain as day."

Fai laughed, "I've never seen writing like that before in my life, Tsuki-chan. It looks really funny, though!"

The girl growled. "Stop. With. The. '-CHAN' ALEADY!!" she whispered fiercely.

"Mokona can read!!" Mokona said, popping in between the two. Tsuki flew backwards, yet again, but her back landed on the ground this time. Fai and Mokona giggled at the surprised look on her face, one of her feet twitching in the air.

"Can you read it, Syaoran?" the creature asked the boy suddenly.

"Yeah, more or less," he replied, a bit hesitant.

Sorata nodded his head slightly. "Kurogane, Syaoran, and Tsuki's worlds use Kanji, but Fai's probably doesn't. But you can understand what I say, and I understand you," he concluded.

"Now what kind of technique is this Kudan?" the ninja asked. "And you used the word… attached."

For the first time in a while, it was Arashi who answered his question, "Even if you come from another world, once you entered this one, a Kudan will be attached." Everyone stared at the woman in mild shock. She knelt down beside Sakura, and then turned to Syaoran. "Do you mind if I call her Sakura-san?" she asked. At his permission, she continued, "I cannot say where Sakura-san's memory went. However, if someone has picked it up, it will become the cause of a fight." Syaoran gasped at Arashi's words. Turning to Kurogane, she stated, "You've lost your method of battle."

Fai smiled slightly at her words. "How did you know?"

"My Honey used to be a Shinto religion miko. She possesses spiritual powers," Sonata explained. "Well, she's retired ever since she married me." Enter yet another blissful expression. "Her beauty when she was dressed as a miko was a god-send!"

"Actually," Fai began, "I did give my powers to the Dimension Witch."

Kurogane growled as he turned away from Arashi's gaze, "And I handed my sword to that bitch!" The man then trained his red eyes on Tsuki. "Do you at least have some fighting experience?" he asked her.

"Uhhh…," Tsuki looked up at the ceiling, a finger nervously placed on her chin. She sweated slightly. "Well... I have a pretty powerful slap for any perverts who come my way!" she stated proudly. The other occupants of the room sweatdropped at her answer.

"Not really what I wanted to hear…," Kurogane grumbled.

Arashi turned to Syaoran, waiting for his answer to her question. "It wasn't any sort of power I gave her," he said. "I never had magic or weapons or anything like that from the start."

"That may have been your good luck," Arashi said, smiling slightly. The travelers looked at her questionably, waiting for her explanation. She gave them one, "There are Kudan in this world. When it comes time to fight, that Kudan should be able to help."

"You can fight with these Kudan?" Tsuki asked the older woman.

Actually, it was her husband who answered for her, "What you use it for, or how you use it is all up to you. One look can answer a hundred questions. If you want to see what your Kudan is…," he paused for dramatic effect, "The only thing to do is see it with your own eyes." Suddenly less serious, he added, "I've pretty much explained everything to know about this country."

"He did?" both Kurogane and Tsuki asked themselves under their breath. No one heard them.

Sorata leaned down to look at Mokona. "What do you think?" he asked it. "Do you think that Sakura-chan would have a feather on this world?"

Mokona concentrated a little as Syaoran looked at it anxiously. "… sure does!" the creature said after a few moments of silence. "It's still a long, long way away, but this country has one."

"Shall we find this feather of yours?" Sorata asked Syaoran, ready to help where he could.

"Yes!" Syaoran said, determination written all over his face.

"And you three, do you feel the same?" the teacher asked Kurogane, Fai, and Tsuki.

Fai smiled brightly. "I might as well," he said.

Tsuki sighed, "Might as well." She was suddenly exhausted and ready to get some sleep.

Kurogane, however, was disagreeable. "If I said I wanted to leave, would you do it, white thing?" he asked Mokona, looking at it with a side glance.

Mokona shook its head (or whole body), "No! Mokona will not leave this country until Mokona finds the feather!"

Syaoran picked up the white creature and looked at it with a grateful expression. "Thank you, Mokona!" Kurogane looked away in angry disappointment.

Sorata stood up and stretched a little. "Fine. While you're on this world, I'll vouch for you," he offered. "I owe Yuko-san a favor.

"This is an apartment building. We've got room. You can use these rooms until you go to your next world," the teacher said, holding Arashi's hand lovingly and rolling the board out of the room at the same time.

"Thank you very much!" Syaoran said, bowing low.

Sorata looked up at something on the wall. Tsuki followed his gaze and saw a round object with strange markings on it. What looked like two little arrows, one larger than the other, were pointing in two different directions. One pointed slightly to the right of the very top marking, the other was pointing directly to the ground.

"It's after midnight," the man said. "It's time to sleep. I'll show you to your rooms." Tsuki quickly rose, excited about the fact of sleeping. "Fai and Kurogane, you don't mind sharing, do you?"

Tsuki froze at his question, her eyes widening.

"Not at all!" Fai said, as chipper as ever.

"What was that?!" Kurogane fumed.

Sorata chuckled at the antics of the two men before turning his attention to Tsuki. "Tsuki, you're-,"

"I want a room to myself!" the girl yelled angrily. Her harsh words startled the three men.

"I-I was going to say that you could have one to yourself," Sorata said, still confused at her outburst. "What did you think I was going to suggest?"

Eyes widening at realizing her mistake, Tsuki's eyes fell to the floor. She muttered, "Nevermind. Just tell me where it is. I'll find it on my own."

"Down the hall and to the right. Your room's the second door from the end of the hall. Arashi will come by later to give you some nightclothes," Sorata told her.

"Thanks. Goodnight, guys," she mumbled before turning around and walking to her room. Not once did she raise her eyes.

"Come on, you two. Your room's this way," the married man turned the men's attentions back on to him.

When they got to their room, the two men went to their separate futons and quickly laid down in them. However, there was something on their minds.

"Wizard," Kurogane called his roommate.

"Yes, Kuro-kun?" Fai smiled at the sound of growling coming from the opposite side of the room.

"Stop with those stupid nicknames, first-of-all!" the ninja sneered. "But seriously, that onna acts so strange sometimes, and we haven't even known each other for a day. She probably had a bad run-in with some guy or something like that, but come on!"

Fai pondered the idea for a few minutes. It was a possibility, but… "I don't think it's that simple. She seems scarred, as though she grew up not knowing anything but to distrust the male population. Certainly the loss of certain memories has a part to play in that distrust, too."

Kurogane grumbled something Fai couldn't hear before saying, "It's not my problem, anyway. I'm going to sleep."

"Nighty-night, Kuro-Kuro~!" the wizard said in a sing-song voice.

"SHUT UP!!" Kurogane yelled back, not even bothering to be quiet this time.

* * *

Tsuki laid face-down in her futon wearing the nightgown Arashi had provided her. She clutched the pillow closer to her face.

"Lady Kanna," she sighed, "I still don't fully understand why you sent me on this journey. Sure, I'm free from Muso's control, but now I'm traveling with three men. Well, I guess Syaoran is a little young to try something, plus he seems completely devoted to Sakura. Still, those other two look so strong. I'm honestly scared, Lady Kanna. What if they try to do something to me? I don't think I could fight them off and you aren't here to help me." Shaking her head slightly, she attempted to get those thoughts out of her head. "Stop that, Tsuki! You promised yourself that you would be strong for Lady Kanna's sake. There's no room for self-pity."

Rolling over, Tsuki stared up at the ceiling. Before drifting off to sleep, she muttered, "I wonder how you are right now, Lady Kanna…"

* * *

**Country of Enshi**

Beneath the halls of Muso's mansion, Lady Kanna hung by her chained wrists in the wicked lord's dungeon. The woman looked older than she already was, huddling her body closer together to keep warm in the cold atmosphere. The back of her kimono was ripped to shreds and her back was bloody from the numerous whiplashes she received for punishment.

"Kanna."

The old woman looked down at a small pool of water to her left. She saw red eyes stare into her black ones. Smiling weakly, Lady Kanna acknowledged the person in the water, "Yuko, it's been forty years, hasn't it? At least in my world."

"Yes, but only eleven in mine. Shame, though, since your were such a lovely young woman," the Dimensional Witch spoke casually. "Back to business, though. Your wish had been fulfilled. The girl is free, at least for now."

The old woman nodded slightly, "Thank you Yuko. Tsuki is such a fragile soul, she should never have to submit Muso or those like him. I saw the whole thing in a dream forty years ago. I saw that it would destroy her. I had to give up my own children's lives in order for hers to be saved." Eyes becoming sad, she asked, "How are my two little girls, Yuko?"

"They are doing fine. They are eleven years old, of course. They are doing a splendid job in protecting my shop. Do not worry, either, for I am treating them kindly," Yuko assured Lady Kanna.

"Good," Lady Kanna replied. Opening her eyes, she looked back at the witch. "There is still the chance that the journey will lead them here. Am I right, Yuko?"

Nodding, the witch looked slightly grave. "Wherever Mokona takes them is all up to chance. Hopefully, though, she will have learned to rely on those around her. That strength may be enough for her to break free for good," she said.

Lifting her head to look at the stoned roof of her cell, Lady Kanna sighed, "All I can do is hope for her."

* * *

**DONE!! This chapter is long, man! It's 12:45 on a school morning and I've just finished it. I'm tired and I need some rest.**

**Tsuki: Finish talking and you'll get to bed faster.**

**Yeah, yeah…**

**A/N: If you can guess who 'Lady Kanna's' two daughters are, you get a cookie!! Hint: They are actual characters in XXXholic.**

**Talk to you later!**


	6. The Guardians

**Tsubasa Chronicles… Plus One**

**By H-Dawg_luvs_anime**

**Hello again and welcome to the fifth chapter of this story! The reviews I'm getting from you, the readers, are awesome! And for all of the people who guessed that Maru and Moro are 'Lady Kanna's' daughters, you all get cookies!! To the recent reviews:**

**Moonlightsshade: I'm glad you find the humor in the '-chan' thing (Right now, Tsuki's throwing a fit after reading your review XD). Yeah, it was a little sad at the end of the last chapter, but it brings a situation into the light. The gang may end up in Tsuki's world, and she may be brought back into her previous situation…**

**Angelflightk2k6: To answer your first question, OC means 'Original Character,' a character people make up to put in stories, mostly in fanfics and fanart. For your second question, Kanji is a style of writing in Japan. You know how the Japanese write with characters instead of words like ours, right? Kanji is like that. Thanks for the review!**

**Emalee Roze: …… Wow, you're happy XD. Its okay, I'm glad you're so enthusiastic about this story. I'll update as much as a girl in Grade 12 can! You can count on it!**

**Sakura is number 1: If you love this story, I'm happy to hear that. Here is another chapter for you to read. I hope you like it!**

**Demon Fox of Midnight: Enjoying your cookie? XD I find that it's a shame that you don't see Maru and Moro in TRC too often, so I thought I'd include them in a more significant role in my story. For your soulless thought, I thought of that, too. You see, Lady Kanna was still pregnant with the twins when she asked Yuko for help to save 'the child' (aka: Tsuki). She gave them to Yuko before they had a chance to acquire proper souls, therefore, they are soulless. I hope that explains things for you. And for the Mokona-always-happy thing, I think I can count the number of times Mokona is truly unhappy on my two hands. Seriously. Thanks for the review!**

**xxChocolateBubblegum: I liked the last chapter, too. As for Maru and Moro being your favorite characters, same here! For that, you get an extra cookie! XD**

**staryskies75: Last chapter was one of my favorites typed out so far. Here's another chapter for your reading pleasure!**

**WildfireDreams: And your reviews are amazing as ever! Thank you very much! Yeah, the name-calling could be worse, but I'll reveal in this chapter why she gets so riled up by it. I think you'll understand after that. Yep, Tsuki woke up after Syaoran woke up. She opened her eyes when Mokona was explaining about how it can sense the feather's waves and what it would do if it sensed the feathers, which leads the slightly scary 'BOINK' face, which leads to what Tsuki first saw when she woke up, which leads to Tsuki freaking out. XD So, yeah, Fai had already 'found' the feather and given it to Sakura.**

**Tsuki, will you do the disclaimers?**

**Tsuki: I'm not in the mood after what moonlightsshade said.**

**Fai: Please, Tsuki-chan?**

**Tsuki: ::tick, tick:: NO!**

**Fai / H-Dawg: PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEE…!**

**Tsuki: FINE, JUST SHUT UP! H-Dawg_luvs_anime does not own Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle. She owns me, as much as I hate to think about that…**

**;_; Tsuki, you're so cruel.**

**Kurogane: ::thinking:: Get me outta here…**

* * *

**Chapter 5 – The Guardians**

_Tsuki was sweeping the halls of Muso's mansion, a job she hated with a passion. It took nearly the whole afternoon to get the damned halls clean! It didn't make the job any easier when people started laughing at Tsuki's visibly sour face, which made it even sourer._

_At the moment, Tsuki was nearly halfway done the last hallway. Sighing, the slave girl looked up at the last few meters of hallway. "Finally," she breathed, a slight smile on her face. A door opened and closed behind her, but Tsuki paid no attention to that, too caught up in her own little bit of happiness._

_"Hello, Tsuki," a suave, but sinister voice said behind the addressed girl._

_Instantly, her good mood vanished as Tsuki took on a look like she had smelt something foul. Turning around, she glared at the superior-looking man behind her known as Muso. _'What does this son of a bitch want know?'_ she thought. "Why are you hear, Muso?" she spat out angrily._

_The lord smirked at the fiery woman in front of him. "Still as feisty as ever, I see. I can't wait for tonight. You'll look so good with a broken expression on that pretty face of yours."_

_"Tch! Like I'd ever submit to you, asshole! I'd rather be dead before I give into your demands. You make me sick," Finishing her talk with a raspberry, she turned her back to him to continue her work. Big mistake on her part. The man she despised wrapped his arms around her waist possessively and held her to his body. Tsuki gasped at the feeling of a very manly part of him press against her thigh._

_Muso put his head beside Tsuki's and whispered in her ear, "Come tonight, you won't have a choice but to submit. Your mine, my sweet, little Tsuki-chan." Muso licked the shell of her ear suggestively._

_Tsuki froze in disgust at what the man said and did. _'That… That MAN WHORE!!'_ She screamed in her mind. "Don't say my name so affectionately!!" Quicker than lightening, the offended girl spun around and delivered a powerful slap to the smug lord's handsome face. Twisting out of his hold, she gave him another slap on the other cheek and bolted out of the room._

_"Run all you want, Tsuki!" Muso called after her, taunting her even through his pain. "A deal's a deal! You're mine!"_

"NO!" Tsuki sat up so quickly from her sleep she got a short dizzy spell. Looking around the room for her tormentor, she noticed she wasn't in her room. _'Oh, right,'_ she thought. _'I'm not even in my world anymore. At least I don't have to worry about Muso coming after me here.'_ Lying down, Tsuki started drifting back to sleep again. _'Gods, I hate that man.'_

* * *

_**"Tsuki."**_

_"Huh?" Tsuki spun around. She noticed she was in a black void. Darkness covered every area as far as she could see. "Who's calling me? Where are you?"_

_**"Tsuki,"**__ the feminine voice called her name again, __**"I'm here to help you, if you will accept me."**_

_"I don't even know who you are," Tsuki called out, getting frustrated at the lack of answers she wanted. "Show yourself to me first and then we will talk." No sooner had she finished her sentence that a bright appeared in front of her eyes. Tsuki brought her arms up to shield her sensitive eyes from blindness._

_**"Tsuki, you may remove your arms. Nothing will hurt you,"**__ the voice spoke again. Lowering her arms slowly, Tsuki was greeted with an odd sight. Right ahead of her was what appeared to be a tiger. However, this tiger was different from what she was used to. Instead of orange fur with black stripes, this one had white fur with gold stripes. It had three tails, each with what appeared to be a lightening bolt on the end of it. Its bizarre green eyes stared kindly back into hers. Despite the oddities to it, Tsuki thought it looked beautiful._

_"What… are you?" the girl asked cautiously._

_The tiger almost seemed to smile. __**"I am a guardian. I protect those who cannot protect themselves under normal circumstances. Foremost, though, I am a reflection of yourself, Tsuki."**_

_If Tsuki wasn't asleep, she was sure she would have had a headache. "I don't understand what the hell you're saying!" she yelled at the creature in frustration. Without warning, the tiger jumped right at Tsuki. Before she could react, it disappeared inside of her. Immediately Tsuki began to feel like she was waking up. Before her dream ended, she heard the voice call out one last time:_

_**"When the time is right, Tsuki, you'll know when to call me."**_

* * *

"You have to start searching for Sakura's feather someplace! So get out into the neighborhood and see," Sorata urged the travelers the next morning.

"Okaay!" Fai and Mokona said together.

"Fine!" Syaoran said.

Kurogane said nothing and Tsuki yawned, still tired from waking up from two dreams in a row the night before.

To say the group looked different from usual was an understatement. If they had worn their usual attire, Sorata had warned them, they would stand out too much. Each of the travelers had new clothes to wear. Fai was wearing a white shirt with three-quarter sleeves and black pants held up with a belt. Syaoran wore a large sweater and baggy jeans. Tsuki thought he looked even younger than he usually did with his outfit. The girl herself was wearing a light blue short-sleeved shirt and a white skirt that trailed down to her ankles. Though she usually hated very feminine clothes, she had to admit she liked how she looked, thought she still kept her hair up in its high ponytail. Only one word could describe Kurogane's outfit: black. It consisted of black pants like Fai, but he wore a black T-shirt with them.

"Actually," Tsuki spoke up after a while, "I'm heading off on my own." At the surprised looks she got, the girl rolled her eyes skyward. "I told you last night, didn't I? I'd help, but in my own way, and my way is doing things on my own."

"But," Syaoran hesitated, "if you get in trouble, what will you do?"

Tsuki gave the boy a skeptical look, "I'm an adult, Syaoran. I can look after myself. If anything happens, I can handle it. See ya! And don't leave this world without me!" she called as she walked away from the group.

* * *

**Seven hours later…**

"Tsuki, you are a retard! How could you forget to ask for money!" The girl screamed to herself, startling the people around her. The only thing louder than her voice was her stomach, which was growling so loud she was sure a bear would be scared off by it.

"Now I'm lost, cranky, AND hungry! How can this get any worse?" She had to say the magic words, didn't she?

As she passed an alley, arms shot out of the darkness and grabbed the girl. Tsuki almost managed to scream, but another pair came out and clamped around her mouth, muffling any sound. She was quickly dragged into the alley.

Slamming into a wall, the girl winced before she opened her eyes slowly. Standing in front of he were two guys, each wearing a perverted smirk on their face. Their clothes were slightly tattered and they looked like they hadn't bathed in a while.

"Lookie what we got, dude," goon number one said. "This one looks mighty fine."

"Tell me about it," goon number two said. "This is gonna be fun."

With the life Tsuki had led, she knew exactly what they were talking about. Jumping up, she took off to the left, only to come face-to-face with a dead end. Realizing her mistake, she turned around to go the right way. Her heart sank into her stomach at the sight of the two men blocking off her escape. _'Oh Gods…!'_ she panicked in her mind.

The men ran at her and pushed her into the wall. "This isn't gonna hurt much, cutie," goon two grinned while running his hands down her sides.

'_Please! Not like this…!'_ she pleaded. Suddenly she screamed, "SOMEONE HELP!!"

"**I am here, Tsuki."**

Lightening shot out of Tsuki's hands and hit the men in the chest, causing them to fly back. Breathing heavily, Tsuki quickly composed herself in time to see the tiger from her dream appear in front of her. The creature was glaring at the two men.

"Wha-What the hell?!" goon one grunted. "This broad's got a special-level Kudan?!"

"Kudan?" Tsuki muttered, realization hitting her at that moment. "You're a Kudan?" she asked the tiger. It nodded. Then it sprang at the perverts and held them down while showing its large fangs to them.

"Please!" they cried together. "Please spare us!"

The Kudan looked back at the girl, asking her what she wanted done.

Tsuki thought for a moment. Then she grinned and said, "Let 'em go."

The Kudan, though slightly disappointed, obeyed and got off the men. They wasted no time in running away. However, before they were completely out of sight, Tsuki turned to the tiger and ordered, "Fry 'em."

The Kudan seemed to smirk, and then sent a small bolt of lightening at each of the men's backsides. Both of them yelped as they made contact and ran faster. Tsuki turned back to the Kudan and smiled gratefully at it. "Thank you so much," she said. The tiger nodded and turned into a white ball, which flew at her and disappeared into her body.

Just then Tsuki's stomach grumbled, reminding her of her predicament before the perverts showed up. Glaring down, the girl said, "Thanks for the reminder."

* * *

A while later, Tsuki managed to find her way back to the apartment. As she neared the door, she saw Syaoran, Kurogane, Fai, and Mokona return, as well.

"Hello, Tsuki-chan~!" Fai and Mokona sang as they caught sight of her.

Tsuki sighed, "No '-chan.' I'm too hungry to argue with you right now."

"You should have stayed with us!" Mokona said. "We had some really yummy apples and Okonomiyaki! It was delicious."

Tsuki stared at the little white creature blankly for ten seconds. She flared angrily after that and ripped Mokona from Fai's shoulder, using her hands to stretch the white thing. Mokona laughed despite the actions against it. "You little monster! Did you guys even realize that I was without money?! I was starving while you all were pigging out! I'm gonna-…!"

"Tsu-Tsuki-san! Please calm down!" Syaoran tried to calm the raging woman. He was also trying to pull Mokona from her grasp.

Growling something fierce, the girl flung Mokona, still laughing, into Syaoran's grasp. She turned to yell at the two other men, when she noticed the ninja slightly roughed-up appearance. "What happened to you?" she asked.

"Some gang members thought they could mess around with me. I used my Kudan to show those idiots a thing or two," Kurogane answered. At the word 'Kudan,' Tsuki's head perked up a bit.

"You have a Kudan, too?"

"Yeah, and so does the kid. I'm guessing you have a Kudan by the way you worded your question," Kurogane said.

"Hey," Tsuki suddenly remembered, "any news on those feathers we're looking for?"

"Yes, actually," Fai nodded. "Earlier, Mokona said it sensed a feather, but then the energy vanished."

"That bites," Tsuki muttered. Her belly rumbled again and she clung to it. Turning to the men, she said, "Umm… I'm gonna get something to eat, now. Are you coming in or not?"

Syaoran nodded as the five filed into the apartment. They walked to Sakura's room and entered. Tsuki was greeted with the sight of Arashi kneeling over the unconscious girl.

"We're back!" Fai and Mokona said at the same time… again. _'Two super-happy characters in our group… I'm gonna have a huge headache before this journey ends,'_ Tsuki thought.

Arashi bowed slightly, "Welcome. Come in."

Tsuki walked up to the older woman, looking a little sheepish as she asked, "Hey, Arashi? Could I get something to eat? I actually haven't eaten anything since this morning, so…," she trailed off hopefully.

Arashi smiled and got up. "I think I can make you a little something. It can't be much, though. I'm about to start making dinner." The two women walked to the door and were just about to head for the kitchen when Sorata came flying up the stairs.

"Oh!" he said, pleasantly surprised. "You're all here! How'd it go?" Syaoran opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off when Sorata waltzed over to Arashi. "But, before any of that… Honey~! Where is my "welcome home" kiss?!" The man pointed at his cheek happily. However, it looked like Arashi was going to give him another kind of "smack"…

Thirty minutes of laughing later, Tsuki was happily enjoying some ramen. She had tuned out the current conversation going on between the others so she could focus on how good it felt that her stomach was not growling anymore. Once her snack was finished she finally paid attention to what the others were saying. She just caught what Syaoran was saying.

"A Kudan!" the boy exclaimed. "Is that what you mean?"

Fai took on a thoughtful expression. "A Kudan _can_ appear and disappear."

"And if a Kudan disappeared," Kurogane concluded, "the wave might disappear, too."

Syaoran spoke again, "Within one of these Kudan… we may find Sakura's feather!"

Fai sighed and looked at Mokona. "But we have no idea just who had the Kudan with the feather," he said.

Sorata looked down in thought for a second. He looked back up at the travelers and said, "But it would have to be a strong Kudan."

"Why's that?" Tsuki asked, tilting her head a little in confusion.

"The fragments of Sakura's memory are immensely potent – like crystallized shards of her heart," Arashi answered. "A Kudan uses the owner's heart. The stronger the heart, the stronger the Kudan becomes."

"In any case," Fai smiled at Syaoran, "looking for the strongest Kudan seems like a shortcut to finding Sakura's feather."

"Alright!" Sorata shouted while jumping up. Tsuki yelped at the sudden action and fell backwards. "Since we've got that all decided, it's time to fortify ourselves with some good food! I will need help from Kurogane, Fai, and Tsuki."

"Yeah!!" Tsuki cheered. "More food!"

"Why do I have to help?" Kurogane demanded, irritated.

"If you don't work, you don't eat," Sorata told him cheerfully.

"Mokona's going to eat, so Mokona will work!" the white creature said while riding on Fai's head.

After dinner everyone got ready to go to bed. As Kurogane and Fai headed to their room, they heard a feminine voice call, "Hey, guys!"

Turning, the two men saw Tsuki looking at them from the dining room. Smiling, Fai asked, "Yes, Tsuki-chan?"

Instantly, Tsuki looked mad and yelled, "Shut up with that!! I'm just telling you now that I'm sticking with you guys tomorrow, so don't you dare leave without me!"

Kurogane raised an eyebrow at her sudden decision. "I thought you said you would do things on your own?" he asked suspiciously.

"I did," the girl defended herself, "but that was before I got lost and almost starved to death. I'm staying with you to make sure that doesn't happen again."

"Okay, then!" Fai smiled, "Goodnight, Tsuki-chan~!"

"SHUT UP!!" said girl shrieked.

* * *

**Sorry it took so long to get out! School, work, and volunteer service is a pain in the posterior sometimes… I'll have the next chapter out ASAP! I hope no one was super-disturbed with Tsuki's dream/memory (That was the scene that happened just before Tsuki was seen storming to her room in Chapter 1). It is just a reason why Tsuki doesn't like the pet name 'Tsuki-chan.' I mean, if a total asshole that you hate with your whole soul called you that in a manner that wasn't at **_**all**_** innocent, wouldn't you feel uncomfortable with being called that name afterwards?**

**Also… theme contest!**

**I've already decided that Tsuki's singing song will be 'Anata Ga Ita Mori' by Jukai. I need help for deciding what her theme will be, though. They all come from the series 'Inuyasha.' The choices are:**

**Sango's Theme**

**Village Theme**

**Aika**

**No Hate (Ironic for her, eh?)**

**Youtube or Limewire can help you find the songs. Listen to each of them and say in your reviews which would best suit her. I'll tally up the votes and post the results in my next chapter.**

**Please R&R and I'll see you later!**


	7. The Pain of Pop

**Hi, everyone! No hard feelings about the super-long hiatus, right?**

**::Can feel the glares through the computer::**

**Anyway, here is the much anticipated chapter 7!!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own TRC or its characters. They belong to CLAMP. I do own Tsuki, though.**

* * *

**Tsubasa Chronicles Plus One**

**Chapter Seven – The Pain of Pop**

* * *

The next morning, the small group of travellers stood together in the crowded streets, gazing thoughtfully at the people as they walked by. Tsuki yawned as they watched for any sign of their target, clearly not a morning person.

Fai was the first to speak. "I guess that nobody has their Kudan out while simply walking," he said. "And if they don't, we'll never see if anyone's Kudan is stronger or weaker."

"Even if," Kurogane continued, "we do find out which Kudan has taken the feather, I doubt they'll be overly willing to give it up."

Tsuki snorted in contempt, "Jeez, selfish much?" Turning her head to the side, she found herself staring into the face of a young boy...

... or the upper half part of a young boy's body.

"WHAAAAGHHH!!!" Tsuki screeched at the sight and hid behind Kurogane's taller frame. Peeking one eye out, the young woman pointed at the boy. "That kid can walk through walls!"

Fai looked closely at the child. "This boy looks familiar..."

"Syaoran-kun!!" a young voice called out. The group turned to see a boy around Syaoran's age running towards them. His appearance was much like the child in the wall; short black hair and small eyes. Syaoran recognized him almost immediately.

"Masayoshi-kun," he greeted. Masayoshi stopped right in front of the group and rested his arms on his knees, trying to catch his breath. The boy Syaoran and his team (minus Tsuki, of course) had met just the day before must have been running all over the city looking for them judging by his exhausted form.

Tsuki jumped as the boy in the wall disappeared in a puff of smoke. _'What the – Oh, that guy must have been this Masayoshi's Kudan,'_ she concluded.

"Were you able to find what you were looking for after I left?" Masayoshi asked once he could properly speak.

Syaoran's smile suddenly turned into a frown as he shook his head. "Not yet..." _'The feather is here somewhere,'_ he thought, _'but I have no idea where to start. How do you find something that can disappear and reappear at any moment?'_

"Okay, then how about I be your guide again today?" Masayoshi asked.

Syaoran lifted his head a little at the offer. "Really? Are you sure it's okay?"

"Sure! Today's Sunday! It's perfectly fine for today!" the black-haired boy said, very excited. If he could help his new friend and idol out in any way, he would do it.

The blond wizard looked down at the two younger boys with a smile. "I'm surprised you were able t find us," he said.

"My Kudan can find anybody as long as he's met them once," Masayoshi explained. "It's no good if it's too far away, though."

"That's pretty amazing!" Syaoran said with a wondrous look on his face. Mokona jumped from the brown-haired youth's shoulder onto Masayoshi's and began to chant 'Amazing' over and over again. Tsuki and Kurogane eyed the small white creature in annoyance.

Masayoshi modestly waved his hands in front of him. "But that's about all he can do. He's pretty weak!"

Kurogane suddenly stiffened his back in caution. The black-coded ninja could feel something was coming, but had no idea what. Turning slightly, he noticed that the mage was frowning (finally!) and was also alert. _'He knows something's wrong, too,'_ Kurogane thought.

Suddenly the wind seemed to pick up tremendously. It was like a hurricane suddenly decided to pop up in the neighbourhood to say high. Tsuki squawked as she held down her skirt to keep it from flying up and revealing more than she was ever going to let anyone see. Looking up, she saw a... giant bird? Whatever it was, it had Masayoshi in its mouth along with... Mokona!!

"Hey!" Tsuki screamed. She pointed at the quickly receding outline of the bird and ordered, "Get back here! I need that manju bun you stole!"

Syaoran also called out for his kidnapped friends, but noticed that a note had landed at his feet. Kneeling down, he quickly picked up the paper and read the message on it:

I'll be waiting at Hanshin Castle!

"Fai-san! Kurogane-san! Tsuki-san! Look at this!" Syaoran yelled in worry for his comrades. All three of the older people looked at the boy strangely before speaking in totally different languages that he had no idea how to translate. _'Uh... what happened?'_ Syaoran suddenly felt very, very worried.

"What did you say?" Tsuki asked Syaoran, unaware that he would not know what she had just said.

"I can't understand you, kid," Kurogane said. The woman and the man stopped talking and looked at each other.

"You speak my language?" Both asked at the same time.

"How can that be? We are from different worlds," Tsuki wondered.

Kurogane pondered the thought for a moment before saying, "Actually, maybe it's our cultures that are the same. I noticed when I first saw you that your clothes looked similar to the ones from my world. I guess our languages are not that different, either."

Tsuki raised a brown eyebrow at the ninja. "Wow, I guess that helps us out in some way. But how come we can't understand the others now? We never had that problem before..."

Everyone's eyes widened as they came to one, unified conclusion.

"Mokona!!"

At least they could understand each other's names when they are mentioned.

* * *

After taking the subway, the four travellers got off when they arrived at the estimated location of Hanshin Castle. Running out onto the streets, they saw a large, Japanese-styled castle on the other side of the trees. They hurried past the entrance and looked around. A familiar giggle made the group lift their heads to the roof of the castle.

"Mokona! Masayoshi-kun!" Syaoran exclaimed at the sight of the two. Both were tied up, though Mokona looked very excited and Masayoshi was crying his eyes out.

"Hey!" Fai called cheerfully to them. "How'd you get up there!?"

"They were kidnapped by a _bird_, numbskull," Tsuki explained through clenched teeth. "Of course they're gonna be high up!"

Irritated, Kurogane called out to Mokona, "Well, you look like you're having fun!"

Pausing in their ranting, the four looked at each other in amazement.

"I understood you guys!" Tsuki exclaimed.

Syaoran tapped his chin with his finger in a thoughtful way, "So it _is_ Mokona that's doing it. Mokona was serving as a translation device."

"Mokona is pretty incredible!" Fai praised, rubbing a hand through his blond hair. "Transporting us to different worlds, translating out languages for us, eating whole apples..." He almost continued, but wisely chose to stop when Tsuki shot him a look that clearly said 'shut up.'

They began running towards the castle to rescue their friends. Kurogane suddenly thought of something important: "Hey! Does this mean that every time we get separated from it, we won't be able to communicate?"

Smiling at the easily miffed swordsman, Fai said, "That's what it means."

Both Kurogane and Tsuki moaned, "Aw, what a pain!!"

The three men and one woman made it through the trees into a clearing in front of the castle. Everyone's jaws dropped at the sight of the enormous crowd of men that filled the clearing. They all looked relatively the same, with white clothes and bandanas on their heads. Small sets of sunglasses rested in front of their eyes.

"What's _with_ these people?" Kurogane asked, looking at the odd group.

Running to the edge of the group, Syaoran held up the note to the crowd. "Who is the one who wrote this letter?!" he yelled.

A melodious feminine voice called out from above, "That would be me!!"

Looking up, Syaoran eyes rested on the form of a beautiful young girl, probably around Tsuki's age or a little younger. She had incredibly long blue hair that was let loose except for the two buns at the top of her head. She wore a white top that showed off her delicate arms and toned stomach. Her skirt was about knee-length and was a bright pink in color.

Syaoran was about to ask her for a name, but the crowd provided the answer instead.

"Primera-chan!!" they called out in adoration.

"Who is this woman?" Kurogane asked in irritation.

The crowd did not like how Kurogane was talking about their idol.

"You don't know Primera-chan?! You must live under a rock!!"

"Primera-chan is our idol!! She sings! She dances! She models! She even has a morning talk show!"

"More than that, she controls an incredible Kudan! Cute _and_ strong! She's the best!!"

"Shut up! We didn't want to hear her whole occupation!" Tsuki screamed at the crowd.

"You're just jealous because she's cuter than you!" some fan called from the crowd.

"What?!?!" Tsuki screamed in rage. Kurogane and Fai both took hold of one of her arms to keep her from leaping into the crowd and find the man that made the comment. "Let me go! He's asking for it!"

"Calm down, Tsuki-chan," Fai said with a smile. "You're clearly outnumbered here."

"Who cares about numbers when my Kudan can zap 'em all to hell," the eighteen-year-old seethed. Her head shot to the side and glared at the blond man. "And stop calling me 'Tsuki-chan!'"

Ignoring the fuss going on behind him, Syaoran kept his ember eyes on Primera. "Please let Mokona and Masayoshi-kun down!" he pleaded.

Primera's pretty face suddenly gained a very confused look at Syaoran's words. "You mean _that_ isn't "Syaoran"?" she asked, pointing up at the still-crying Masayoshi.

"I am Syaoran!!" the brown-haired boy said.

Primera started to growl. All of that effort to bring that wimp here and he _wasn't_ Syaoran? This other kid was who Shogo-kun said he liked? Slowly she turned to the three fanboys behind her (the ones who controlled the giant bird Kudan) and brought out a paper fan. She started to beat the three with the fan in a very comical fashion. "You _idiots_!!! You couldn't have been more wrong!!"

"If you have any business, bring it to me! Let those two down right now!" Syaoran said.

Primera hopped off the ledge she had previously occupied and landed gracefully on another part of the castle's roof. "Nope!" she said, denying Syaoran of his request. Smiling brightly, Primera winked at the young boy. "If you want them back, you're going to have to battle me for them!"

The crowd began to cheer for the blue-haired beauty, "Primera-chan!! She's so beautiful!"

"Aw, shaddap!!" Kurogane called with annoyance. Now he was having half a mind to let Tsuki electrocute the morons. Hell, he would call forth his own Kudan and join her!

Syaoran gritted his teeth in determination. "We'll have to find a way up!" He was going to save his friends, no matter what!

"I might be able to get up there," Fai volunteered.

"You know where the staircase is?" Syaoran asked.

"No... but I should be able to get there," Fai said.

"Yeah? How?" Kurogane asked while raising a sceptical eyebrow.

"Oh, let me guess," Tsuki said in a sarcastic tone, "you're going to grow wings and fly up there."

Fai smiled at her tone. _'How cute,'_ he thought. "Good try, Tsuki-chan, but that's not it. My Kudan may be willing to help, though." With those words, the image of a giant green bird appeared behind Fai. Unlike the ugly one that Primera's goons used, this one was absolutely breathtaking. It moved its wings in a graceful way that commanded attention. Slowly the bird's image disappeared into the wind and swirled around the mage's body. The rest of the group watched in amazement as Fai began to levitate off of the ground and soared into the air. His blond hair flowed with the wind that carried him.

"Oh, my Gods," Tsuki said softly, quite awestruck at the sight.

"He's flying!" Syaoran exclaimed much louder than Tsuki.

Primera puffed her cheeks out in irritation at the blond man's ability. "Man, he can fly? No fair! If I can't, he shouldn't be allowed to!" she complained childishly. Her frown slowly turned into a smile. Oh, well. She still had _her_ Kudan, too. Holding her hand out, Primera called forth her partner. Unlike several of the Kudan that inhabited that world, Primera's Kudan did not have an animal form. Hers took the form of a large microphone, fitting for her character and idolism. Not only that, but it was a Special Level Kudan, giving it an extra boost of power. "Now you'll see what kind of damage my Kudan's attack can do!"

"Is her voice _that_ bad that she's going to sing us to death?" Tsuki mocked.

"Keep your eyes open," Kurogane ordered, "because I have a feeling there's more to that thing than meets the eye."

Boy was he right.

Primera took a deep breath and said, "Is everyone having fun?!"

As she spoke, the microphone Kudan transformed the words into actual physical form and shot them towards the floating mage. The resulting explosion was enormous. Aside from worrying about the annoying blond, Tsuki thought that the girl was an idiot to shoot out explosives near a historic building that could probably be damaged easily. She really didn't think things through, did she?

Syaoran looked at the explosion with concern and called out "Fai-san!"

Primera giggled, "Don't mess with this superstar!"

'_More like pain in the ass,'_ Tsuki thought.

Kurogane lifted his head slightly. "Look up there."

"Eh?" Syaoran and Tsuki followed his eyesight and saw a perfectly unmarred Fai floating above the area that exploded.

"Wow, he's fast," Tsuki commented.

"That was a surprise," Fai said. "A Kudan can do that? This country is pretty amazing." Fai smiled down at the two hostages, "You liked that attack, didn't you Mokona?"

"Amazing! Amazing!" the little white creature cheered and clapped its hands.

"Primera-chan's Kudan is Special-Level! Be careful!" Masayoshi warned.

Meanwhile, Primera started to show signs of a tantrum. Waving her arms around she yelled, "This makes me so frustrated!" She calmed down enough to begin 'singing' numerous attacks at the flying mage. No doubt those attacks were powerful, but she was failing miserably in the accuracy department. "Why can't I _hit_ you?!" she screamed at her opponent.

Fai was still smiling as he landed on the roof of Hanshin Castle. "If I let you hit me, it might hurt," he stated calmly.

"He's a little overconfident, isn't he?" Kurogane spoke to Tsuki as they watched the mage and the idol.

"I don't think overconfident is the word," Tsuki said. "I think he's more 'cocky' than anything."

"... Yeah, I guess," Kurogane agreed. The ninja turned his attention to the teenager beside him who was currently looking around the area for something. "What are you planning, kid?" he asked.

"We have to get to the top and get those two down!" Syaoran said. "We also have to help Fai-san!"

"You can leave him alone. He'll be fine!" Kurogane said, not wanting to waste any energy on helping the nut when it was clear that he had the upper hand.

As Primera started her attacks on Fai again, Kurogane continued his explanation, "I've fought with Kudan, so I know. Even if you're Kudan is able to fly, your muscles are your body's normal muscles."

Syaoran looked startled, "You mean the ability to float and dodge like he's as light as paper... is _Fai-san's_ own ability?"

"Yeah."

"Whoa, whoa! Time out! You mean that nutso is using his own abilities to do all of this?! I just thought he was a weirdo!" Tsuki asked with a hint of disbelief in her voice.

"Oh, that's right. You weren't with us yesterday when Fai-san told us that he was the one who brought himself to the witch. He has more power than we first thought," Syaoran explained.

"WHAAAAT?!?!?!" Tsuki screamed at the new information.

Kurogane snorted, "Look at that damn grin! This man is a combat veteran."

"I think I need to lie down..." Tsuki's eyes were swirling with confusion as a headache was starting to form from all of the new info.

"Tsuki-san, are you all right?" Syaoran asked with concern.

Primera forced their attention back on her with her next words, "You forced me into it! _Change_!!" The crowd cheered as their idol's Kudan shifted its form into a mike stand. "When my Kudan-chan becomes a mike stand," she boasted, "There's no running away!" She began her singing again, but instead of the characters flying every which way, they were now honing in on Fai like sensory missiles.

The group watched in horror as the attacks reached Fai and exploded. "Fai-san!!" "Fai!!" Syaoran and Tsuki ran to the tree that they saw a human-shaped fireball fall into. "Fai-san!!"

"I'm all right!"

Both the runners stopped dead in their tracks at the perky voice. They almost fell over in shock when the blond mage stood up without a single mark or blemish on him.

"H-How... How...," Tsuki looked almost ready to faint from confusion and shock.

"I never expected it to change form," Fai said as he dusted off the sleeves of his shirt. "And those letters sure come after you!"

"Tha-That's all you have to say when we thought you were roasted?!" Tsuki yelled, almost hysterically. _'What the hell is wrong with this guy?!'_

The mage merely waved his hand in front of him sheepishly, "Ah~, you were worried, Tsuki-chan? How cute!" His smile widened a little more as lightning seemed to spark from her body. _'I guess her Kudan is reacting to her anger,'_ he thought.

"And since this girl is fighting with her Kudan, and Mokona isn't reacting," His face, though still smiling, attained a more serious-looking expression, "it must mean that the girl isn't the one with the feather."

Primera, not able to hear their conversation, decided to bring their attention to her.

"Well, do you surrender?" she asked Fai.

"If I did, what would happen next?" Fai asked casually, humouring the blue-haired girl.

"Then I move on to the next one to defeat, this "Syaoran" guy!" she declared.

"We can't have that," the mage said, shaking his head. "Syaoran has some important business to see through. I'd really rather it ends with me," he said, laughing a little at the end.

Primera smiled mischievously, "If so, then I..." she lifted her mike to her lips, "... will just have to wiiiiin!!"

The words flew at Fai again. This time Fai was ready for them.

Just as the attacks reached him he quickly shifted to the side and hopped onto the words. What Primera did not understand until it was too late was that the attack had created a bridge for Fai to run directly to her.

Fai took advantage of her mistake and knocked the girl over, pinning her to the roof she had previously been standing on. Smiling softly down at Primera, Fai said in a smooth, charming voice, "I don't want to be the cause of injury to a beautiful young woman. Won't you stop?"

Unfortunately for Fai, he did not get his answer.

Now, to Fai, he was just pinning Primera to the roof in order to prevent any further attacks on his person. To several others who were watching, it looked slightly... less than innocent. One of those people happened to be Tsuki. Tsuki hated perverts. She had a short temper. She was already stressed by the mage... and she had a lightning Kudan.

Bad combination.

"YOU PERVERT!!!!" Tsuki screamed as she summoned her lightning tiger and fired a stream of lightning at the building, but hoping that it would hit the 'pervert' in question. Fai heard her scream and quickly ducked to protect both himself and Primera. The attack did miss... them anyway. The building wasn't so lucky and neither were the two _tied_ to the building. The part where Tsuki hit exploded on contact, knocking the Masayoshi and Mokona off of the castle and sent them plummeting to the ground.

Tsuki stood frozen for a few seconds as what just happened processed in her brain. "...Oops," she said in a small voice.

"Nice job, idiot," Kurogane muttered.

"Watch out!!" Syaoran screamed at the two falling figures.

Masayoshi's Kudan appeared to try and save his partner, but could not slow down the rate that they were falling. Suddenly a manta ray-like creature appeared beneath Mokona and Masayoshi and stopped their fall.

"That Kudan...!" Syaoran gasped in remembrance.

"What do you think you're doing, Primera?" a strong voice said. The entire group at Hanshin Castle turned to see a young man with long hair tied back in a ponytail and goggles on his head.

Primera blushed lightly at the sight of him, "Shogo-kun!"

Meanwhile, Mokona's eyes opened wide...

* * *

**There we go! My first chapter in God knows how long! Thanks for your patience, everyone! I promise not to leave this story on as long a hiatus as this has been. How embarrassing!!**

**Kurogane: If you do that again, they'll probably hunt you down and shoot you.**

**SHHHHH!!! Don't give them ideas!!**

**Oh, and on another note, I screwed up some of the songs names on the contest for Tsuki's theme song. The one entitled 'No Hate' was supposed to be 'End of Sadness.' Sorry, my bad! Anyway, to clean up the tallies (and take advantage of the nice new poll selections) I am now holding the contest with the poll system. It can be found on my profile page and you can elect as many as two songs. This remember that only one is going to be chosen as the actual theme. Thank you again for your patience!**


End file.
